Saturday, October 31, 2015

Paola Longoria, the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) #1 player, will have a chance to win the tournament named after her: the 2015 Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, as she comfortably won her semi-final match against Samantha Salas, 11-2, 11-2, 11-0, on Saturday.

In doubles, Susana Acosta and Jessica Parrilla needed a tie-breaker to defeat Michelle Key and Monserrat Mejia, 12-15, 15-11, 11-9. The match looked to be over on Acosta and Parrilla’s first match point, but an appeal by Key and Mejia of Acosta’s serve was overturned, as the line judges disagreed with the referee’s call of no short serve.

That led to a Mejia forehand pinch shot that got her side back the serve. However, they could not score, as Acosta hit a great wide angle pinch shot to the right side, and Parrilla’s cross court serve return, which was very high - over four feet off the ground, hit Key.

With the serve back, Acosta and Parrilla made no mistake, winning it on the ensuing rally when a Key backhand cross court shot only reached the middle, where Parrilla went to her knees to hit a forehand kill shot to end the game and match.

Acosta and Parrilla will play Longoria and Salas, who defeated Alexandra Herrera and Maria Renee Rodriguez, 15-4, 15-4, in the second semi-final.

The singles final is Sunday at 1 PM with the doubles to follow immediately afterwards. You can watch the action via the LPRT Livestream channel.

Alejandro Cardona and Jake Bredenbeck - the #1 and #2 seeds at the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Modesto Open in Modesto, California - will meet in the final on Sunday after they won their respective semi-finals on Saturday.

Cardona beat Andree Parrilla, 15-4, 15-9, in the semis, while Bredenbeck had to come back from a game down to defeat David Horn, 10-15, 15-14, 11-3.

Horn had three chances to win it in game two, but failed convert any of those match points. Bredenbeck took advantage of the opportunity, and in the tie-breaker he got up 6-0. Horn got a few points, but after that early lead he never got back into the game.

Horn also disputed some of the referee’s calls in game three, and was likely unsettled by the number of calls that he felt did not go his way.

Bredenbeck will try to ‘do the double’ on Sunday by winning both singles and doubles, as he and partner Jose Diaz defeated Cardona and Jordy Alonso in the semi-finals on Saturday, 15-10, 15-14. Bredenbeck and Diaz will face Horn and Parrilla in the final, as Horn and Parrilla beat Freddy Flores and Jaime Martell in the other semi.

The final will be live streamed from Modesto via the WRT website beginning at noon PT Sunday.

Rocky Carson and Alvaro Beltran will face off in the final of the Galaxy Custom Printing International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Pro-Am in Lilburn, Georgia on Sunday. Carson has won at least one Tier event in 5 consecutive IRT seasons, and a win Sunday will extend that streak to six.

For his part, Beltran will be trying to win his second IRT Tier 1 event in his long career.

It was almost not to be for Beltran, as he was forced into a tie-breaker by Daniel De La Rosa in their semi-final match after Beltran won the first two games. Then in the breaker, De La Rosa was up 6-1. Thus, it looked unlikely that Beltran would be able to comeback.

However, the veteran, and former International Racquetball Federation (IRF) World Champion, came back and defeated De La Rosa in five games, 11-7, 11-8, 5-11, 2-11, 12-10.

Carson had a much easier time of it, as he beat Jose Rojas in three straight games, none of which were close with the final score line of 11-4, 11-1, 11-5.

On the IRT, Carson holds a small advantage over Beltran in their careers, as in 40 matches Carson has won 21 times and Beltran 19. With two evenly matched players, it could go either way on Sunday.

The final is noon ET on Sunday, and you can watch them live via the IRT Network.

The top four seeds are through to the semi-finals at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) 2015 Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico and only one of them had to play more than three games to get there. That was Maria Jose Vargas, who dropped the first game against Alexandra Herrera, before winning in four games, 5-11, 11-7, 11-5, 11-6. She’ll play 3rd seed Rhonda Rasjich, who defeated Jessica Parrilla, 11-4, 11-4, 11-7, in the quarters.

One other upset in the 16s, as 9th seed Susana Acosta outlasted 8th seed Sofia Rascon, 11-9, 8-11, 11-6, 5-11, 11-4. Acosta will play top seed and LPRT #1 Paola Longoria in the quarterfinals, as Longoria comfortably won her match with Masiel Rivera, 11-0, 11-4, 11-0.

The Round of 16 concludes Friday with the quarterfinals and semi-finals on Saturday, and the final on Sunday at 1 PM CST. You can watch the action via the LPRT Livestream channel.

The first surprise result at the World Racquetball Tour (WRT) Modesto Open in Modesto, California came from 12th seed Mauro Rojas, who defeated 5th seed Anthony Herrera, 9-15, 15-7, 11-7, in the Round of 16.

The win puts Rojas into the quarterfinals on Saturday against Andree Parrilla, who beat Freddy Flores, 15-3, 15-5, in the Round of 16.

A smaller upset occurred in the 8/9 match, as 9th seed Jordy Alonso defeated 8th seed Felipe Muñoz, 15-11, 15-8. In the quarterfinals, Alonso will play top seed Alejandro Cardona, who had to play a tie-breaker to get by Luis Avila, 9-15, 15-8, 11-4.

Also of significance, Jaime Martell beat Jose Diaz, 15-13, 15-9, in the 16s, and will next play David Horn in the quarters, as Horn defeated Ricadro Diaz, 15-8, 15-0. Horn versus Martell will be a good match, as Martell was impressive at the US Open reaching the Round of 16 where he played a good match against Rocky Carson, while Horn is a recent winner on the WRT.

Live streaming will be available from Modesto via the WRT website. That will likely start on Saturday with the quarterfinals at 10 AM PDT.

The top four seeds won their respective quarterfinal matches Friday in the Galaxy Custom Printing International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Pro-Am in Lilburn, Georgia. Top seed Rocky Carson has been most impressive. He beat Matthew Majxner, 11-5, 11-1, 11-0, in the quarters. Carson played six games Friday, and only gave up 7 points.

Carson’s next opponent will be 4th seed Jose Rojas, who also won his quarterfinal match in three straight games, but had to play extra points in game one versus Felipe Camacho before he won 13-11, 11-4, 11-1.

Camacho led for most of game one, and got to game point at 10-7. However, Rojas fought off four game points, as he tied the game at 10-10. Camacho had one more chance at 11-10, but Rojas again escaped; this time with a backhand pinch shot.

Game one finally ended at 13-11, when Rojas found himself in the front court, and hit a soft backhand down the line that he sliced and got to run along the left wall out of Camacho’s reach.

Game two developed slowly, as it took many rallies for the players to get to 4-4. But from there, Rojas scored seven unanswered points to win 11-4. In game three, it was all Rojas, as he went out to a 10-0 lead, and won 11-1.

Second seed Alvaro Beltran also won his quarterfinal in three straight games, as he took out Mauricio Zelada, 11-2, 11-5, 11-9. Zelada was ahead for most of game three, including at 9-8, but he couldn’t close it out.

Beltran will play 3rd seed Daniel De La Rosa, who narrowly escaped from his match with Jansen Allen, as Allen was up 2-0 and then ahead 7-1 in game four, only to see De La Rosa come back and win it in five games, 7-11, 7-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-2.

Allen played well, and must be lamenting his missed opportunity to put De La Rosa away in the fourth game, when Allen had his big lead. De La Rosa seemed disinterested at that point, but from down 7-1, he got a couple of points on loose rallies by Allen. It was a time when Allen really needed to be putting his foot down, but he failed to do so, allowing De La Rosa back into the game.

The little change in momentum was all De La Rosa needed to reenergize himself, and push on to win game four and then game five, completing a comeback that seemed unlikely. A big part of De La Rosa’s comeback was hitting a lob kiss serve to the left - Allen's backhand, as Allen didn’t have a good return solution for it.

The semi-finals begin at 4 PM EDT on Saturday, and you can watch them live via the IRT Network.

Two upsets in Round of 32 at the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) 2015 Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. One was 19th seed Monserrat Mejia defeating 14th seed Maria Renee Rodriguez, 11-4, 11-3, 12-10. Mejia will play 3rd seed Rhonda Rajsich in the Round of 16 this afternoon.

The longest match of the first round was the last one, as 16th seed Gabriela Martinez and 17th seed Masiel Rivera played five games with Rivera winning 11-4, 5-11, 11-6, 9-11, 12-10. She’ll play LPRT #1 and the tournament title player, Paola Longoria, in the Round of 16 tonight.

The rest of the Round of 32 matches were straight games wins.

As per usual, the Rounds of 32 and 16 are being played on Friday with the quarterfinal and semi-finals on Saturday, and the final on Sunday at 1 PM CST. You can watch the action via the LPRT Livestream channel.

Next up for Zelada is 2nd seed Alvaro Beltran, who defeated Filip Vesely, 11-3, 11-8, 11-6, and Majxner will player top seed Rocky Carson, a winner over Jeremy Best in three games, 11-1, 11-0, 11-0.

Mario Mercado came close to causing a big upset, as he took 3rd seed Daniel De La Rosa to five games before falling, 11-1, 10-12, 11-8, 8-11, 11-4. Mercado played well in the match, but game five he never really got on track as De La Rosa took an early lead and looked comfortable as he maintained it throughout that game.

The match winning shot was a nice forehand splat that was flat.

The Round of 16 continues Friday with the quarterfinals to begin at 4 PM EDT. To see the action live, watch it at IRT Network.

Two small upsets in the qualifying rounds at the Galaxy Custom Printing International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Pro-Am in Lilburn, Georgia. Jeremy Best defeated Troy Warigon in the 16/17 seed match, 11-8, 11-7, 11-0, and will play top seed Rocky Carson in the Round of 16 on Friday.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

The Galaxy Custom Printing International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Pro-Am, the 2nd of 5 consecutive Tier 1 events, begins today in Lilburn, Georgia. However, IRT #1 Kane Waselenchuk is not there due to a family emergency, according to the IRT website.

Thus, Rocky Carson is the top seed with Alvaro Beltran #2, Daniel De La Rosa #3 and Jose Rojas #4. Also, Felipe Camacho and Robert Collins are seeded into the Round of 16.

Also in the draw is Sebastian Franco, who was a semi-finalist last week in San Marcos, Texas. Franco upset De La Rosa in the 16s last week en route to the semis, and they may meet again this week, if they both get to the quarterfinals. Franco would have to win his qualifying match against David Stincer and then upset Jansen Allen to get there, while De La Rosa will face the winner of Mario Mercado and Matt Fontana in the 16s.

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The World Racquetball Tour (WRT) rolls into Modesto, California for the Modesto Open this weekend with twenty three players in the draw. Alejandro Cardona is the top seed, and Jake Bredenbeck is second. Cardona has won four of the last five WRT events this year. Third seed David Horn won the other event of the last five.

Live streaming will be available from Modesto via the WRT website. That will likely start on Saturday with the quarterfinals at 10 AM PDT.

The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) is back in action this weekend with the 2015 Paola Longoria Experience in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Most of the top 10 players are there, including LPRT #1 and the tournament title player, Paola Longoria.

Her rivals LPRT #2 Maria Jose Vargas and LPRT #3 Rhonda Rajsich, coming off a runner up performance at the US Open earlier this month, are in San Luis Potosi looking to upset Longoria. Longoria and partner Samantha Salas - the three time reigning World Champions - are also in the doubles draw, although Vargas and Rajsich are not.

Also curious in the doubles draw, Frédérique Lambert and Michelle Key are not playing together, after playing as a team most of the last season including at the US Open, where they were upset by Alexandra Herrera and Monserrat Meija, who also curiously are not playing together in San Luis Potosi.

Lambert is playing with Youngock Lee. Key is playing with Mejia. And Herrera is playing with Maria Renee Rodriguez.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Recently there has been talk about how to make racquetball better. Ektelon, one of the major racquetball manufacturers, has come out with a 23” racquet, which is one inch longer than the current racquetball rules allow. And on the IRT Network’s broadcast, John Scott discussed this topic with International Racquetball Tour (IRT) President Jason Mannino.

When people are proposing solutions or changes to anything, one has to step back and ask “What is the problem?” or perhaps “Is there really a problem?”

In creating a longer racquet, Ektelon implies that the current racquet length is inadequate for the game. Twenty two inch racquets are surely not a problem. Also, a longer racquet is not going to help any kid trying to learn the game, as 22” racquets are already awkward for them to use.

Scott suggested different scoring formats could improve the game. Perhaps using best of three games or rally scoring (a point scored by the rally winner regardless of whether that player served or not). Scott seems to think matches are too long.

Mannino, who described himself as a racquetball purist, said the IRT has discussed many things that people have suggested could improve the tour. This year they have included a video appeal using the IRT Network video. It’s interesting addition, although like video review in other sports, it's not always clear how helpful it is.

But it does address a clear issue, which is the difficulty in judging what is happening on the court. Racquetball is notoriously difficult to referee, because the discriminations are difficult, especially so with the speeds IRT players hit and move at. Doing something to try to address that is good.

To The Racquetball Blog staff there are few, if any, problems with racquetball that wouldn’t be solved with a doubling of the number of racquetball players. Twice as many racquetball players would be mean a greater demand for facilities, a greater demand for racquetball products, and greater numbers of elite racquetball players, which would help with the competitiveness of the pro tours.

Is a dominant player a problem?

Some have wondered if having a dominant player is a problem. Both the IRT and the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) currently have dominant players: Kane Waselenchuk and Paola Longoria, respectively. Sometimes a dominant player can have people flock to a sport, which seems to be happening in Mexico, Longoria’s home country, where she is a media phenomenon. Sadly, that’s not happened in either Waselenchuk’s home country of Canada or the USA, where he’s resided for over a decade.

Is dominance a problem? That’s unclear, but sometimes it can be a very positive: think of Roger Federer in tennis or Tiger Woods in golf. But if dominance is a problem, what would the solution be? The simple answer is to have greater competition. That could come by having more players, or by raising the level of the current players. Some have suggested Waselenchuk is teaching people how they should play, though it seems more like he’s schooling them, and they don’t seem to be learning.

In both Waselenchuk and Longoria there is a high level of skill, and considerable talent that’s been effectively used to create that skill. But has a detailed analysis been done of what each of them is doing? On the IRT Network this past weekend, Scott said that to beat Waselenchuk you have to kill more balls. Fine, so do you understand how Waselenchuk hits so many kill shots? He’s clearly doing it better than other players. Is he just doing it more often than other players, or is he doing it differently than others? Where is the evidence to address that question?

With Longoria, she grips the racquet in an unconventional manner. Does that give her an advantage? If so, should other players also use that grip? No one seems to have copied Longoria’s forehand grip style, so it seems people don’t think that’s what’s giving her an advantage, although we haven’t seen any evidence that it’s not.

One thing Longoria is clear on is how she has a support team that helps her perform so well. That is something other racquetball players would do well to copy. Integrated Support Teams, or ISTs, are something that most, if not all, elite athletes in the world have, so Longoria is just another example of that. ISTs exist, because it’s acknowledged that performance is determined by multiple factors - not only what’s done on the field of play, and no one person - traditionally the athlete’s coach - can have all the knowledge the athlete needs to excel.

If Longoria’s competitors do not have ISTs, then that is clearly a problem that needs a solution.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Kane Waselenchuk successfully defended his title Saturday at the 2nd Annual Krowning Moment International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Pro Invitational in San Marcos, Texas by defeating Rocky Carson, 11-6, 11-3, 11-2. “It was a good match for me,” said Waselenchuk afterwards.

Waselenchuk stormed out of the gate, going up 7-0 in game one before Carson even served. Waselenchuk would get to 10-0 before Carson scored. However, after getting on the board, Carson put together a nice run of points with some good shots and serves.

Carson cut the lead to 10-6, including saving five game points. But prior to the sixth game point opportunity, Waselenchuk took a timeout. When play resumed, Waselenchuk drove serve to the right side that Carson could only get his racquet on, winning the game 11-6.

“My serve was on fire,” Waselenchuk said afterwards. That was evident in game two, as he hit six aces or service winners to comfortably win it 11-3, closing out the game on three consecutive aces against a clearly demoralized Carson.

Game three was over in 22 rallies, as Waselenchuk won it 11-2, hitting two more aces in the process. He also hit winners with two pinch volleys, which might be the most difficult shot in racquetball. One was a forehand and one a backhand.

How does one defeat an overwhelming favourite? One thing is that you can’t have any lapses of concentration. Carson was close with Waselenchuk early in game two, when the score was 5-3 in Waselenchuk’s favour.

At that point, Carson got the serve back, as Waselenchuk made an unforced error by skipping a shot. This was an opportunity for Carson to take advantage and get some points to tie the game, and perhaps go ahead, which could lead to him winning game two and levelling the match at a game apiece.

But Carson skipped a shot - unforced - on the next rally, cheaply giving the serve back to Waselenchuk.

Carson didn’t serve again, as Waselenchuk scored five consecutive points to win game two and put Carson in a hole he wasn’t going to get out of.

The win is Waselenchuk’s third of the season in as many events, and solidifies his place on top of the IRT rankings.

This weekend is the first of five consecutive weekends of IRT action. They’ll be in Atlanta next weekend for the Atlanta IRT Pro/Am. That will be followed by the Red Swaine Shootout in Davison, Michigan, the 25th Annual Garden City Turkey Shootout in Garden City, Kansas and then the St. Louis Racquetball Winter Rollout the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Waselenchuk had periods of brilliance in his match, but also some lulls as Beltran put up a strong fight against the defending champ. One of the brilliant periods came at the start of the match, as Waselenchuk jumped out to a 5-0 lead in game one, including two aces for the first two points of the game.

But 19 rallies in, and it was still 5-0. Then Beltran started piling up the points, and tied it at 5-5. Waselenchuk again went ahead, but not by much at 7-6.

Then he scored three points to make it 10-6. Beltran fought off two game points, and scored twice more to make it 10-8. Waselenchuk ended the game with a drive serve to the left. Beltran hit a backhand return cross court, and Waselenchuk hit a soft backhand pinch shot into the front right corner.

In game two, the resistence came early, as after eleven rallies and they were tied at 1-1. Then Waselenchuk put a run of points together, scoring six - including three aces - over the next ten rallies to make it 7-1.

After a Beltran timeout, he got the serve back, and scored three points to make it 7-4. Two of those points were skipped service returns by Waselenchuk. But a Waselenchuk forehand cross court shot got him the serve back, and he scored four straight points without giving up serve to win game two, 11-4. The winner was a drive serve ace to the left side that cracked out.

In game three, Beltran took a big lead early, as he went up 6-1. However, Waselenchuk dug in, and came back to tie it at 6-6 and then 7-7. There were several sideouts in the middle of game three, but then Waselenchuk scored three points on consecutive rallies to make it 10-7. Beltran fought off the first match point with a great forehand return pinch, but he failed to score on his serve, as Waselenchuk got a sideout.

Waselenchuk ended game three much as he ended game one. He drove serve to the left side. Beltran returned it cross court, and Waselenchuk hit a backhand softly down the line.

Both players primarily drove serve in the match. Waselenchuk hit 10 aces or service winners, and Beltran hit six.

Carson and Franco played a similar match, as the first and third games were close, but the second wasn’t. And Franco - like Beltran - had a big lead in game three, as well as a small lead in game one, but he wasn’t able to capitalize on either advantage.

In game one, Franco went up 3-0 with Carson coming back to tie it at 3-3 and 4-4. Then Carson pushed on to make it 10-4. Franco held him there and scored four points to make it 10-8 before Carson finished off the game 11-8 with a forehand winner.

Carson grabbed a 4-0 lead in game two, which led to a Franco timeout. Franco did score his first points after the timeout, but Carson maintained the advantage, and won comfortably at 11-3.

In game three, Franco went up 6-0, and it looked like they might be going to at least a fourth game. But a Carson timeout at 6-0. Then there was some controversy as Carson was called for a fault for not checking whether Franco was ready to return serve before serving. This was at 1-6, and on Carson’s second serve, so he lost serve.

And in doing so lost it on the referee, smashing the ball into the back wall towards the ref, and demanding to talk to the IRT President Jason Mannino. Mannino confirmed that the referee’s call was correct, so Franco got the serve, although no technical was assessed against Carson, which was surprising.

Franco got a point on the next rally to make it 7-1, but that was his last point of the match, as Carson seemed to get fired up by the incident with the referee, and pushed on to score ten unanswered points and close out the match in three straight games.

Waselenchuk and Carson met in the final of last year’s Krowning Moment event, which Waselenchuk won in four games. The game he dropped to Carson in last year’s final was one of only two games Waselenchuk lost on tour last year (aside from a loss due to injury).

The final will be 7:00 PM Saturday night. You can follow the action via the IRT Network.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Sebastian Franco, a World Champion in Men’s Doubles, has reached a semi-final at a Tier 1 International Racquetball Tour (IRT) for the first time in his career, as he defeated Robert Collins, 12-14, 11-9, 11-5, 11-4, in the quarterfinals of the 2nd Annual Krowning Moment Pro Invitational in San Marcos, Texas. He’ll play IRT #2 Rocky Carson in the semis on Saturday, as Carson beat Edson Martinez, 11-4, 11-3, 11-7.

Franco had a game point in the first game, but failed to convert it, as Collins squeaked out the first game, 14-12. They were close the whole way in game two with neither player being ahead more than two points. In the end, Franco won the two points at the end that got him the game at 11-9, and leveled match at 1-1.

In game three, Franco went up 6-1, and although Collins got within one at 6-5, Franco held Collins at five, winning game three 11-5. Game four was similar, as Franco took a 7-2 lead, and pushed on to win the game 11-4, and the match, 3-1.

Kane Waselenchuk, the defending champion and #1 IRT player, defeated Jansen Allen in their quarterfinal match, although he dropped the first game to Allen. But characteristically, Waselenchuk came back strong, and blanked Allen in game two, as he went on to win in four games, 3-11, 11-0, 11-7, 11-3.

Waselenchuk will play Alvaro Beltran in the semi-finals, as Beltran outlasted Marco Rojas in their quarterfinal match, winning in five games, 11-6, 4-11, 11-9, 3-11, 11-4.

Most of Beltran and Rojas’s games were lopsided, except for the third, which Rojas led 3-0, and 7-3, and again at 9-6. But Rojas couldn’t get those last crucial points, as Beltran came back to win it 11-9, and take a 2-1 advantage in the match.

Rojas also had difficulty closing out game two, although he led 10-1, it took him several minutes to get the last point, as Beltran kept fighting.

The semi-finals and final are both on Saturday. The semis to start at 11:15 AM and the final to start at 7:30 PM. You can follow the action via the IRT Network.

Two big upsets in the Round of 16 at the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) 2nd Annual Krowning Moment Pro Invitational in San Marcos, Texas, as both IRT #3 Daniel De La Rosa and #5 Jose Rojas lost their matches Friday.

De La Rosa was defeated in five games by Sebastian Franco, 2-11, 11-4, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7. Franco hit many serves to De La Rosa’s forehand, and often at angles - Z serves or jam serves, so De La Rosa had to move his feet to adjust. He made the adjustment, and after winning game four, it looked like De La Rosa would prevent the upset. But Franco held on winning match point as De La Rosa skipped a forehand shot after Franco had saved the ball three times, including a diving get.

Rojas lost to Edson Martinez, who has represented Mexico on the international stage, 5-11, 11-8, 11-8, 11-5. Martinez will face IRT #2 Rocky Carson in the quarterfinals, as Carson defeated Andree Parrilla, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6.

Franco will play the winner of another five game match in the quarters, as Robert Collins beat Mauricio Zelada, 11-6, 11-7, 6-11, 4-11, 11-7.

Kane Waselenchuk, the defending champion and IRT #1 player, won his Round of 16 match in three straight games, as he beat Javier Mar, 11-7, 11-2, 11-8. Next up for Waselenchuk will be Jansen Allen, who defeated Felipe Camacho, 11-6, 9-11, 11-5, 11-7, in the 16s.

The quarterfinals begin Friday afternoon. Both the semi-finals and final will go on Saturday. The semis to start at 11:15 AM and the final to start at 7:30 PM. You can follow the action via the IRT Network.

The International Racquetball Tour (IRT) is back in action this weekend with the 2nd Annual Krowning Moment Pro Invitational in San Marcos, Texas. Kane Waselenchuk is the defending champion, and the IRT #1 player, coming off a dominating performance at the US Open earlier this month in Minneapolis.

The opening rounds were Thursday, and there were a couple of upsets by the seeding, although perhaps not by the players involved. Edson Martinez, who has represented Mexico in doubles on the international stage, defeated Matthew Majxner, 11-2, 11-6, 10-12, 12-10, to book a spot on in Friday’s Round of 16 versus Jose Rojas.

Also, Andree Parrilla defeated Mario Mercado, 9-11, 11-9, 11-9, 11-9, in a close match between two World Junior Champions. Parrilla won the Boy’s U16 World Junior title two years ago, and Mercado is the current U18 World Junior Champion. The 2016 World Junior Championships happen next month in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The Round of 16 begins Friday morning with the quarterfinals late Friday afternoon and evening. Both the semi-finals and final will go on Saturday. The semis to start at 11:15 AM and the final to start at 7:30 PM. You can follow the action via the IRT Network.

Monday, October 12, 2015

A few more results from the 2015 UnitedHealthcare US Open that concluded Sunday in Minneapolis. In Men’s Open, American Adam Manilla defeated Christian Longoria of Mexico, 15-13, 15-8. Manilla beat another Mexican Gerardo Guevara, 15-4, 15-4, in the semi-finals and Longoria defeated Mario Mercado of Colombia, 15-9, 15-13.

Manilla’s win is the first open division win for a US player since 2002 when Josh Tucker won the division.

Doug Ganim, US Open Director, announced that the 2016 US Open would again be the second weekend in October, so we anticipate the dates will be October 5-9, 2016 in Minneapolis. Also, Ganim announced that the cumulative total of money raised for charity - St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Rapha House and JDRF - is now over $400,000.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Kane Waselenchuk won his 11th US Open title Sunday at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis by defeating Daniel De La Rosa, 11-5, 11-8, 11-3. Waselenchuk's been in more US Open finals than any other man, and he's won all of those finals.

The win should propel Waselenchuk back into the top spot on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) rankings ahead of Rocky Carson, who was #1 coming into the US Open.

Although he double faulted at the start of game one, Waselenchuk started the match strong, as he scored seven points before De La Rosa got on the board. However, De La Rosa scored five in a row get within two at 7-5.

But that was all Waselenchuk let De La Rosa have, as he closed out the game at 11-5.

In game two, De La Rosa scored the first point, and they were back and forth for 18 rallies, when the score was 3-3. Waselenchuk then got three points to make it 6-3, and looked to be on his way.

But De La Rosa came back and tied it at 6-6, and they went back and forth again and 14 rallies got them to 9-8 with Waselenchuk ahead. De La Rosa then made an unforced error by skipping a forehand to give Waselenchuk game point at 10-8.

Some controversy on the next rally, when the referee called a hinder as De La Rosa's return hit Waselenchuk. But Waselenchuk thought De La Rosa's serve return skipped before it touched him. When it was clarified that the ball hit Waselenchuk before the floor, De La Rosa questioned why it was a hinder and not a penalty hinder, as Waselenchuk was positioned directly front of De La Rosa as he returned serve.

When play resumed, Waselenchuk hit a drive serve to the left that was an ace: his fourth of the match. Waselenchuk served up seven aces in the match.

In the final, Waselenchuk always drove serve on first serve, and often did so on second serve. He hit no lob serves in the match, although some of his drive serves were Z serves.

In game three, Waselenchuk again started strong, as he took a six point lead before De La Rosa got his first point, so the writing was on the wall. De La Rosa got a few points in game three, and tried to change things up by varying his service return position. But all to no avail, as Waselenchuk won game three, 11-3, as he forced De La Rosa to skip a backhand shot.

And with that Waselenchuk won the 2015 US Open Racquetball Championship, his 11th title.

Paola Longoria won her 6th US Open Racquetball Championship - and 5th consecutive - Sunday in Minneapolis, as she defeated Rhonda Rajsich in the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT final, 11-7, 11-5, 9-11, 11-9. It's the 20th Anniversary of the US Open, and Longoria's won 30% of the women's titles, more than any other woman. Rajsich is 2nd with four titles.

Afterwards, Longoria said it's "still the same happiness" as when she won her first US Open, adding "it's amazing to be back here."

Longoria started strong, as she took a 9-4 lead in game one, and pushed on to win 11-7. That continued in game two, as she led 9-0 before Rajsich got on the board.

But Rajisch scored five points before the second game ended, and she carried that momentum over into game three, building a 7-2 lead. However, that lead evaporated as Longoria tied it at 7-7. They went back and forth from there, and it was 21 rallies before Rajsich came out on top, 11-9, forcing a fourth game.

Game four started slowly, as the first point wasn't scored until the fifth rally. Rajsich got on the board first, and went up 3-0.

Longoria was clearly frustrated, and that was evident at 3-0, when she disagreed with a hinder call that she appealed and was upheld based on one of the line judges agreement with the referee. She hit a winning return on the next rally, and gestured to the line judge as if to indicate justice was served.

Longoria then scored three points to tie the game at 3-3, but Rajsich again went ahead 7-3, which led to a Longoria time out.

When play resumed, there was long rally that included one of the many diving gets by Rajsich, but ended when Longoria hit a winning forehand pinch shot. With the serve back, Longoria hit her third ace of the match - a drive serve to the left (Rajisch's backhand), and her fourth ace ended a six point run that put Longoria up 9-7.

They battled back and forth from there. Longoria got to match point at 10-8. Rajsich fought off two match points, and scored one to make it 10-9. But at that point, Rajsich's serve started another long rally that ended when Rajsich was unable to return a ball at the back.

On the next rally, Longoria drove serve to the left, and Rajsich skipped her serve return, ending the match.

Longoria's win is her 6th in 12 appearances at the US Open. She's been a finalist 8 times.

Despite the loss, Rajsich's US Open record is impressive. A four time US Open Champion, she has competed in 15 of the 20 US Opens, and been in the final 11 times, which is the most for a woman.

And afterwards Rajsich, who turned 37 on the first day of the tournament, said, "I'm not done."

2015 United Healthcare US Open - LPRT Draws
Minneapolis - October 7-11, 2015

Ben Croft and Kane Waselenchuk successfully defended their International Racquetball Tour (IRT) US Open doubles title at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis by defeating Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz, 15-0, 15-5.

Waselenchuk did most of the work in the match, as Croft isn't fully match fit a few months after shoulder surgery. But Waselenchuk "knew it was important" to his partner to defend their title, adding "I wasn't going to play with anybody else."

Because of that Croft said it was "the best racquetball performance of any single player in doubles history. I've never seen anything like what Kane did [in the final]."

Doug Ganim, a former elite doubles player himself and US Open tournament director concurred, saying "I've seen all the greats, and I've never seen anything like that," referring to Waselenchuk's performances in winning the title.

Earlier in the tournament, when it looked like Croft wasn't 100%, Waselenchuk said to Ganim "don't be mad when I win this two on one," which is not far from the truth of what he did.

Regarding whether he'll play in upcoming IRT events, Croft said "I don't know where I'm at," so he didn't feel he was in a position to make any judgment about what he's going to for the upcoming events.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Paola Longria and Samantha Salas, the #1 seeds, won the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) doubles final at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis by defeating fellow Mexicans Alexandra Herrera and Monserrat Mejia, 15-10, 15-2.

Herrera and Meija were a Cinderella story reaching the final by going through qualifying and then defeating the #2 and #3 en route to the final. But in the final, they ran into the reigning three time World Champions, and Cinderella's glass slipper broke.

The first game was competitive, but in game two Herrera and Mejia got down early and compounded the problem with several errors in the middle of the game that put it out of reach. Thus, it was appropriate the the match ended when Mejia jumped up to try attempt ceiling ball that did not make the front wall.

Longoria has won both US Open LPRT doubles competitions, although her win last year was with Veronica Sotomayor, as Salas missed the US Open due to injury.

Sunday, Longoria will try to do the double once again by winning both doubles and singles, as she's in the US Open LPRT singles final versus Rhonda Rajsich.

2015 United Healthcare US Open - LPRT Draws
Minneapolis - October 7-11, 2015

Ten time US Open Champion Kane Waselenchuk will have a chance to make it 11 Sunday at the United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships after winning his semi-final match against Alvaro Beltran, 11-4, 11-1, 11-9. His eleven US Open pro finals is the most for a man, and tied with Rhonda Rajsich for most overall.

He'll face a new opponent in the final, as Daniel De La Rosa - the 4th ranked player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) - defeated the #1 ranked IRT player Rocky Carson in the other semi-final after five game marathon match, 11-9, 10-12, 8-11, 11-8, 12-10. Prior to this event, De La Rosa hadn't reached even the semi-finals at the US Open - racquetball's premier pro event.

Afterwards, De La Rosa said he felt "amazing." He took two injury time outs - both in the fifth game, as he hurt his back. But just tried to push through it.

"I'm ready" for the final. "It's just me and the ball. I don't care who's the other side. I want to play my best." De La Rosa will need to play his best if he is to knock off the 10 time Champion, and hand Waselenchuk his first US Open loss since 2002, when he lost to Cliff Swain in the semi-finals.

Against Beltran, Waselenchuk was in control throughout games one and two, but in game three Beltran came from 4-0 down to lead 7-6. But the seven time defending champion held Beltran at seven, scoring four points to reach match point.

But on the first match point, Waselenchuk uncharacteristically skipped a ceiling ball. He made no mistake on his second match point, serving up a drive serve ace to the right side to move on to his 11th overall, and 8th consecutive, final.

The US Open Racquetball Championships are having their 20th anniversary this year in Minneapolis, and for over half of that period Rhonda Rajsich has been a women's pro finalist, and she will be again this year, as Rajsich defeated 2nd seed Maria Jose Vargas, 11-6, 8-11, 11-7, 11-6, in the semi-finals Saturday.

The win puts Rajsich in the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) final for an 11th time, which is the most for a woman (and ties Kane Waselenchuk for most final appearances overall). Rajsich is a four time US Open Champion.

If Rajsich is to win her 5th title, she'll have to stop Paola Longoria from winning her 5th consecutive title, as Longoria beat Veronica Sotomayor in the other semi, 10-12, 11-7, 11-3, 11-3.

After winning game one, Rajsich got behind in game two, as Vargas took an early 5-0 lead. But the four time champion came back and went ahead 7-5. From there they went back and forth. Rajsich pulled ahead 8-7, but Vargas got the serve back and scored four unanswered points. Rajsich called a time out down 9-8, but to no avail, as Vargas won it on a skipped serve return off a drive serve to the left side.

In game three, Rajsich took the lead early, and ran it up to 9-2 with forehand winners. Vargas came back to make it 9-7, but a penalty hinder gave Rasjich back the serve, and she scored two straight points to go up two games to one.

They were close early in game four, and right up until 6-6. Rajsich called a timeout at that point, and when play resumed she scored five unanswered points, the last four coming on consecutive rallies. Vargas skipped a forehand for Rajsich's final point.

Sotomayor started strong, winning game one against defending champion Longoria. After Longoria went ahead in game two, 8-3, Sotomayor came back to 8-7, and looked like she might be able to pull a big upset.

But from there, Longoria held Sotomayor to six points, as she closed out game two, 11-7, and then won games three and four each 11-3. As in the first semi-final, the losing player skipped a shot to give her opponent the final point.

The final will be 10 AM Sunday at Lifetime Fitness - Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, and can be seen live via the IRT Network.

2015 United Healthcare US Open - LPRT Draws
Minneapolis - October 7-11, 2015

The Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) doubles final at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis will be an all Mexico affair, as #1 seeds Paola Longria and Samantha Salas defeated 4th seeds Susana Acosta and Jessica Parrilla, 15-5, 9-15, 11-5, in one semi-final and the young team of Alexandra Herrera and Monserrat Mejia knocked off 3rd seeds Michelle Key and Frédérique Lambert in the other semi-final, 13-15, 15-9, 11-7.

How young are Herrera and Meija? They're teenagers. Herrera, a left-hander, was a double gold medalist in Girl's U18 at last year's World Junior Championships, winning in singles and doubles, while Mejia won gold in Girl's U14 doubles.

They've beaten the #2 and #3 seeds to get to the final, but Saturday they'll be up against the three time reigning World Champions. The test doesn't get any tougher.

The final will be 4 PM CDT Saturday.

2015 United Healthcare US Open - LPRT Draws
Minneapolis - October 7-11, 2015

Defending International Racquetball Tour (IRT) US Open doubles champions Ben Croft and Kane Waselenchuk looked unlikely to defend their title as Croft was hurting on Thursday, as he's coming back from shoulder surgery. But they've made it to the at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis final, after defeating brother Jose Rojas and Marco Rojas, 15-10, 15-2.

They'll face another young team in the final, as Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz defeated Jansen Allen and Charlie Pratt, 15-10, 15-12, in the other semi-final.

"Always fun playing with Jake," said Diaz, "because he's just a monster on the court. To get a win against [Allen and Pratt]. It's pretty big."

Bredenbeck agreed, saying "I feel we play together really well. [Jose] takes pressure off me, because he's going to be there and cover. I can just shoot the ball."

Part of their advantage could be that they have matching shoes. Diaz was telling Bredenbeck that he liked his shoes, and they weren't expensive, and they passed a store that had them, and Bredenbeck needed some new court shoes, so "it's works out perfect," said Bredenbeck.

"I was going for the green ones," said Bredenbeck, "but they didn't have them."

Friday, October 9, 2015

Ten time US Open champion and seven time defending champion Kane Waselenchuk continued his mission for #11 Friday at the United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships, as he defeated Jansen Allen, 11-3, 11-1, 11-1, in the quarterfinals. Waselenchuk will now face Alvaro Beltran in the semi-finals Saturday. Beltran beat Anthony Herrera in the quarterfinals, 11-7, 11-8, 11-8.

Daniel De La Rosa - the 4th ranked player on the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) - has reached the semi-finals of United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships for the first time in his career after defeating 5th seed Jose Rojas, 11-2, 11-4, 11-5, in the quarterfinals Friday in Minneapolis.

The win, which came Rojas's fourth straight US Open quarterfinal appearance, avenged a loss to Rojas last month in Kansas.

Afterwards, De La Rosa said he felt "I'm ready for this" last night, and that he'd been working on his mental preparation. "I don't have anything to lose."

All the top four seeds made the semi-finals, and all did so in three straight games, which suggests that they are cut above the rest of the field.

Veronica Sotomayor, the 12th seed, upset 4th seed Frédérique Lambert, 11-4, 11-5, 8-11, 4-11, 11-7, in the quarterfinals of Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) competition at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis. The win puts Sotomayor in the US Open semi-finals for the 2nd time in her career. The first was in 2012.

"My serves were awesome today," said Sotomayor afterwards, as evidenced by four aces in game one that helped her get the early advantage.

But Lambert fought back after dropping the first two games, and one wondered whether Sotomayor was too tired to finish off the match, as Lambert clearly had the momentum going into the tie-breaker.

Lambert did take an early 3-1 lead in game five, but Sotomayor dug in and came back to tie the game at 3-3, and then go ahead 5-3. From there Sotomayor never relinquished the lead, although Lambert got within one at 8-7.

Towards the end, Sotomayor's serving heated up again, as she hit an ace and two service winners, including one on match point, as she drove the ball to the left, where Lambert got her racquet on it, but couldn't get it to the front wall.

As Sotomayor said afterwards, "it was a great match."

Sotomayor will hope to play that well in the semi-finals on Saturday, as she'll face LPRT #1 and 4 time defending champion Paola Longoria, who was a winner over Sofia Rascon, 11-8, 11-1, 11-4.

In the other quarterfinals, 2nd seed Maria Jose Vargas defeated Michelle Key, 11-4, 11-6, 9-11, 11-8. Early in game four, it looked like Key was going to force a fifth game, as she took a 5-0 lead.

But Vargas worked her way back into the game, and, with three aces in four rallies, went ahead 8-7. She stayed ahead, winning the match when Key skipped a ceiling shot.

Tie-breakers were the order of the night Thursday in the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) quarterfinals at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis, and two of the results were upsets.

But the top seeds and defending champions Ben Croft and Kane Waselenchuk survived, albeit barely, as Croft is clearly not 100% with his right arm a few months after having major shoulder surgery. But after switching to an I formation serve return late in game one, they were able to come back and defeat David Horn and Andree Parrilla, 5-15, 15-6, 11-10.

They'll play brothers Jose and Marco Rojas in the semi-finals, as the brothers beat Chris Crowther and Javier Moreno, 12-15, 15-7, 11-3.

The upsets happened on the bottom of the draw. Second seeds, and last year's runners up, Alvaro Beltran and Rocky Carson fell to Jake Bredenbeck and Jose Diaz, 15-7, 14-15, 11-10.

After squeaking out the second game, Beltran and Carson carried the momentum over into the tie-breaker, and went up 6-0. However, Bredenbeck and Diaz chipped away at the lead getting to within one at 8-7.

But the veterans Beltran and Carson got to match point first, leading 10-7 after an penalty hinder call and a Diaz skipped shot.

Then Bredenbeck took over. He got a hideout, and served up a drive serve ace to Carson. He followed that up with a forehand winner, and then Beltran skipped a shot to make it 10-10.

Carson hit a winner to save the first match point, but on the next rally Diaz hit a forehand on the right side that forced Beltran to a skip a shot, and the match was theirs.

Bredenbeck and Diaz will face Jansen Allen and Charlie Pratt in the semi-finals, as they upset the 3rd seeds Daniel De La Rosa and Alejandro Landa, 15-9, 6-15, 11-5.

With the top seeds not fully fit due to Croft's injury and the 2nd seeds out of the event, it seems wide open as to who will be the winner of the 2015 US Open IRT doubles competition.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Big doubles upset in the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) competition at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis, as the young team of Alexandra Herrera and Monserrat Mejia knocked off 2nd seeds Rhonda Rajsich and Maria Jose Vargas, 15-11, 15-4. Herrera was a double gold medalist in Girl's U18 at last year's World Junior Championships, winning in singles and doubles, while Mejia won gold in Girl's U14 doubles.

But Thursday they knocked off the LPRT's #2 and #3 players.

With the win, Herrera and Meija will face 3rd seeds Michelle Key and Frédérique Lambert in Friday's semi-finals, as Key and Lambert defeated Erika Manilla and Melania Sauma, 15-10, 15-5.

As with the men, 7 of the top 8 seeds have made the quarterfinals in the Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) competition at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis. The exception is 5th seed Cristina Amaya, who lost to 12th seed Veronica Sotomayor in the Round of 16, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 11-2.

The top two seeds both reached the quarters with straight game victories. Top seed and four time defending champion Paola Longoria defeated Carla Muñoz, 11-2, 11-2, 11-2, and 2nd seed Maria Jose Vargas beat Jessica Parrilla, 11-8, 11-4, 11-6.

But Vargas's win wasn't painless, as she was hit in the face by Parrilla, as Parrilla followed through with a backhand swing. Vargas needed to get bandaged up, but continued with the match.

Two Round of 16 matches went to tiebreaker. Fourth seed Frédérique Lambert needed five games to fend off current Girl's U18 Junior World champion Alexandra Herrera, 11-5, 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-4, and 7th seed Michelle Key went the distance with fellow American and 10th seed Da'monique Davis, winning 6-11, 8-11, 11-4, 11-2, 11-3.

The top eight International Racquetball Tour (IRT) seeds have advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis with one exception, as 6th seed Ben Croft forfeited his Round of 16 match to Anthony Herrera.

Croft had shoulder surgery a few months ago, and is trying to work his way into game shape. In his Round of 32 match against Majeed Shahin, Croft was clearly hurting at times, and took an injury timeout in game two. He's also entered in pro doubles as he and Kane Waselenchuk are the defending US Open champions in that division.

That's a title Croft wants to successfully defend.

There were no tie-breakers in the 16s, as the higher seeds all won in three or four games, including Waselenchuk's win over Chris Crowther, 11-2, 11-3, 11-4.

Only one upset so far in the Round of 32 Ladies Professional Racquetball Tour (LPRT) competition at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open in Minneapolis, as 22nd seed Gabriela Martinez knocked off 11th seed Cheryl Gudinas in three straight games, 11-4, 11-9, 11-6. Next up for Martinez will be 6th seed Samantha Salas who beat Andrea Martinez Gonzalez, 11-1, 11-2, 11-0.

The Round of 32 continues Thursday with the Round of 16 to follow later on Thursday.

2015 United Healthcare US Open - LPRT Draws
Minneapolis - October 7-11, 2015

In the early action of the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Round of 32 at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis there's already been one upset and one near upset. Veteran Javier Moreno upset 13th seed Alejandro Landa, 3-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-9, to move into the Round of 16 later today. Landa was a semi-finalist here last year, so will suffer a major drop in rankings points with the loss.

Fifth seed Jose Rojas could have had the same fate as Landa, as he was pushed to a tie-breaker against Gerardo Franco before coming out on the winning side, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 7-11, 11-1. Rojas took it up a notch in the tie-breaker to make his way past Franco.

Two other near upsets happened to 6th seed Ben Croft and 7th seed Jansen Allen, who both had to come from behind to win. Croft came from 2-1 down to beat Majeed Shahin, 11-9, 9-11, 9-11, 11-7, 11-0. Croft is still recovering from shoulder surgery, and clearly seemed to be favouring his right arm at times in the match. Yet he found a way to win.

Allen was down 2-0 versus current USA Racquetball Intercollegiate champion Adam Manilla, but came back to win, 7-11, 9-11, 11-8, 11-3, 11-3.

Next up for Croft is Anthony Herrera, who was an upset winner over 11th seed Robert Collins, 11-8, 11-3, 3-11, 11-8, while Allen will face Jose Diaz, who defeated Thomas Carter in three straight games, 11-1, 14-12, 11-5.

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

The 16 qualifiers for the International Racquetball Tour (IRT) Round of 32 at the 2015 United Healthcare US Open Racquetball Championships in Minneapolis have been determined, and there are a few surprises.

Jaime Martell took out the top seed in qualifying veteran Cliff Swain in four games, 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7, and will play Mauricio Zelada in the 32s. Hiroshi Shimizu was another veteran who didn't make the 32s, as Majeed Shahin beat him in four games, 11-5, 10-12, 11-5, 11-8.

But not all the veterans were upset victims, as Thomas Fuhrmann beat Mario Mercado, albeit narrowly, as Fuhrmann needed five games and extra points in the fifth before winning 11-2, 8-11, 11-8, 9-11, 14-12.

Another five game match with a surprising result was Teobaldo Fumero's victory over Fernando Rios, 11-9, 1-11, 3-11, 11-6, 11-9.

In doubles qualifying, two matches went three games with tie-breaker close and the other not close. Thomas Fuhrmann and Anthony Herrera won the close match in a battle of two lefty-righty team, as they defeated Adam Manilla and Nicholas Riffel, 15-11, 5-15, 11-10.

Felipe Camacho and Thomas Carter - another lefty-righty team - won the not close breaker, as they beat Jose Daniel Ugalde and Noslen Jimenez, 12-15, 15-12, 11-0. Ugalde looked to pull a leg muscle early in the breaker, and took the full 15 min of injury time much of which he spent lying on the court floor. But he did decide to continue, although unsuccessfully.

Play will streamed live via the IRT Network from Wednesday at 6 PM CDT.